Chicago police stop black motorists more, ACLU finds

The Rev. Ira Acree said he was a victim of racial profiling by Chicago police in June. Acree says the ACLU's report is proof that African-Americans in Chicago are still not treated fairly by police.

The Rev. Ira Acree said he was a victim of racial profiling by Chicago police in June. Acree says the ACLU's report is proof that African-Americans in Chicago are still not treated fairly by police. (Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune)

Chicago police stop far more black motorists than their percentage of the population, ACLU finds

The Rev. Ira Acree says he was stopped at a red light on the West Side on a warm night this past summer when a Chicago police officer in a squad car suddenly cursed and shouted at him to pull over.

The officer accused him of texting on his cell phone while driving, Acree said, but Acree said he was checking a text while parked. Then came an angry interrogation, Acree said: Where have you been? Where are you headed? What have you been doing today?

"I know black men get profiled in America, I know they get profiled in Chicago, but I'm in my own neighborhood," said Acree, a well-known African-American pastor who said he was ticketed for using his phone while driving. "I've got a history and a track record fighting for people and I got treated this way."

The department also said it prohibits racial profiling and other "bias-based policing," but its own records suggest the problem — often derisively referred to as "driving while black" by African-Americans — remains persistent, according to a study by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

Of the more than 100,000 traffic stops made by Chicago police last year, nearly half were of black motorists, far more than their percentage of the population per 2010 Census figures, according to the ACLU analysis of the data. The numbers were even more lopsided for traffic stops of blacks in predominantly white neighborhoods, the ACLU found.

Tribune Graphics

Tribune Graphics

"Black motorists are being stopped far more likely than we would expect," said Adam Schwartz, a senior staff counsel for the ACLU of Illinois. "We think that tends to show that police have different tests when deciding who to stop and who to search."

The troubling pattern of alleged bias by Chicago police comes 11 years after the state legislature required all law enforcement agencies to keep data on the race of every driver they stop. The requirementwas part of an effort to gauge the prevalence of racial profiling and try to find ways to prevent it.

An analysis by the ACLU earlier this year of law enforcement data showed that police across Illinois have made little progress combating racial profiling. According to that report, police searched the cars of African-American and Latino drivers far more than those of whites, yet officers found drugs and other contraband at a higher rate in vehicles driven by whites.

The state trend was reflected in Chicago, where African-American and Latino motorists were more than four times more likely to have their vehicles searched during traffic stops last year than white motorists. Yet, officers found drugs or other contraband in the vehicles of white drivers at higher rates — double the rate in searches in which officers had consent — according to the report. In 2004, by comparison, African-American and Latino motorists were nearly three times more likely to be searched than white motorists.

The latest ACLU analysis of data collected by the state's Department of Transportation — 2013 is the most recent available — focused on Chicago police and traffic stops.

According to the report, Chicago police stopped 46,172 black motorists last year, 46 percent of all the traffic stops, yet African-Americans comprised about 32 percent of the population. By contrast, Latinos, who comprised 29 percent of the city's population, were pulled over 22,542 times, 22 percent of all the traffic stops, the ACLU found. Whites consisted of 32 percent of Chicago's population, yet were pulled over 27,311 times, 27 percent of all the traffic stops, according to the data.

Perhaps even more revealing, the ACLU found that Chicago police stopped African-American drivers at even higher rates than whites in police districts where the majority of its residents were white.

For example, in the Near North District, which covers such neighborhoods as River North, Gold Coast, Magnificent Mile and Lincoln Park, 19 percent of the traffic stops were of African-Americans even though they comprised just 9 percent of the population, the study found.

In the Northwest Side's Jefferson Park district, 7.5 percent of the traffic stops were of African-Americans even though they comprised only 1 percent of the population, according to the report.

A spokesman for Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the department had not seen the ACLU report but emphasized its commitment against racial profiling.

In McCarthy's three and a half years in office, the department has worked on improving its relationship with residents, particularly in African-American neighborhoods where deeply rooted distrust of the police is palpable. To try to improve interactions in those communities, the department moved cops from aggressive specialized units to neighborhood beats and put rookie cops fresh out of the police academy on foot patrols.

Marty Maloney, McCarthy's spokesman, said the department has also required that all 12,000 officers undergo training on what it calls "procedural justice" — essentially how to treat the public with fairness and respect.

The training efforts "have led to a 15 percent decrease in complaints against officers over the last two years," said Maloney, who was unable to provide the raw data.

The ACLU study drew from data reported by Chicago police under the Illinois Traffic Stop Statistical Study Act. The law, sponsored by then-state Sen. Barack Obama, mandated the statewide study of all traffic stops until mid-2019.

Schwartz said the ACLU backs making the law permanent and expanding it to include street stops, not just traffic stops.

For his part, Acree, pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church, said he felt violated by the June 7 traffic stop at Roosevelt Road and Austin Boulevard, although he said the ticket was ultimately tossed. Calling himself "pro police," he said he was particularly disappointed by the treatment since he has worked closely with police superintendents over the years and enjoyed a good relationship with officers in the Austin police district.

Chicago police said the department investigated the incident, but ultimately did not find fault with the officer.

"The Chicago Police Department takes allegations such as these very seriously, and because of that, an internal investigation was promptly initiated following the complaint that ultimately resulted in a not sustained finding," Maloney said in an emailed statement. "CPD expressly prohibits racial profiling and other bias based policing, and over the past three years CPD has improved training to ensure police officers are aware of this prohibition and are prepared to enforce and comply with it."

But Acree said the ACLU report is proof that African-Americans in Chicago are still not treated fairly by police.

"It's just frustrating that in 2014 we still have people who want to treat African-Americans like second-class citizens," Acree said. "It's egregious. It's shameful this has to be addressed."